Accountability Literacy Project
Accountable leadership: Mechanisms for
empowering all stakeholders in health responses
About AAI
Define Accountability 1
2
minutes
Working alone
please write a definition of accountability
in your own words
Define Accountability 2
4
minutes
Work with one colleague
please write a joined definition of
accountability
Definition
“[accountability is] the ability to sanction poor
performance by rulers
in an effort to improve it.”
Amartya Sen.
Acc & democratic governance
Each citizen, however ‘powerless’, is part of contract
and has some power to hold govt accountable.
Bill of Rights is part of the contract.
Negative rights/Freedoms from (civil & political).
Positive rights/Rights to (social, …).
The contract is based not only on formal rules but also
on the content of a political programme/manifesto.
Types of Accountability
Vertical
Consider:
Bottom-up, ‘citizen power’
CSO & Donor
Horizontal
Accountability?
Checks and balances
Executive/Legislative/Judicial
Top-down
Government control over bureaucracy
Implications of glocal: Global obligation to hold local leaders accountable
Accountability mechanisms
Loss of political support
Electoral
Critical public opinion
Constitutional obstruction
Legislative criticism
Political campaigning
Media criticism
Peer review
Judicial orders
Civil activism
Donors
What accountability is not...
Monitoring and evaluation =
M&E is a means of increasing acc.
Acc can exist where no M&E is being done.
Acc can be the reason why M&E gets done.
Governance =
Acc is one aspect of good governance.
Add acc, transparency, good M&E, budget management etc and
we have some of the ingredients for good governance.
Accounting =
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+
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AAI Basic Strategy
AAI believes that strong and accountable leadership is
necessary to ensure effective responses to HIV and
related health challenges.
We do this by
•increasing transparency,
•promoting dialogue and
•supporting action to improve the response.
Needs-driven, evidence-based
research and advocacy that measures
performance against the commitments that
have been made by govts.
Using data for advocacy
•Increases reporting of data and transparency
•Increased political commitment
•Response based on facts not guesses
•Better identification of regional best practice
•Easy, accessible and powerful advocacy tool
•Can’t argue with the figures: Facts!
•Improves process: Civil society and govt can work together to
get data, sharing knowledge
•Guides CSOs and donors response to improve their own work
•Greater ownership of the process
Getting accountability
40 minutes
4 groups: Civil society - govt - funders - citizens
Name all the people/organisations that you
can/should hold accountable and the
mechanisms available to you to do this.
Example:
1. Govt: elections, constitutional court orders...
2. Multi-lateral aid agencies: political campaigning, ...
Personalising accountability
First Circle: ?
Second Circle: My children?
Third Circle: ?
Fourth Circle: My partner?
Fifth Circle: ?
Circle of personal accountability
Answer this on a piece of paper:
What does it mean to you to be personally accountable? How can failing to accept
personal accountability cause negative consequences?
AAI Accountability Tools
•Existing tools: Country Scorecard, Scorecard on Women,
LGBT Scorecard, Business Rating, Maputo SRHR Project
(beyond HIV to SRHR)
Contact Details
Phillipa Tucker
Senior Researcher
South Africa Rating Centre
Plein Park Building
68-83 Plein St, Cape Town
South Africa, 8001
Tel: +27 (0) 21 466 80 74
+27 (0)82 225 1598
Email: phillipa [at] aidsaccountability.org
Web: www.aidsaccountability.org